India vs Bangladesh | Virat Kohli vs Abu Jayed, Mohammed Shami vs Mushfiqur Rahim & Other Key Battles

At the very onset Bangladesh’s tour of India was going to be mighty difficult and it didn’t help that they lost the talismanic Shakib Al Hasan just before the series commenced.

As expected, India stamped their authority over the visitors in the first Test at Indore and have shown no signs of slowing down.

Bangladesh on the other hand need to dig deep and pick themselves up in Kolkata, where make no mistake there will be some much needed support for them.

Once again against India’s in-form bowling attack Bangladesh will have their task cut out against the pink-ball in Kolkata, but there remains some key contests and sub-plots that might change the complexion of this historic Test.

Ahead of India's second Test against Bangladesh, here are the key battles that will shape the result of the match.

Mohammed Shami vs Mushfiqur Rahim

If there’s one bowler Bangladesh will be terrified of with the pink ball in his hands it will be Mohammed Shami. He’s known to make the pink ball talk and the visiting batsmen need grit and a calm head.

One of their most experienced players Mushfiqur Rahim, though not an opener, will have to blunt Shami’s reverse swing.

Rahim top scored for the visitors in both innings’ in Indore and will need to lead from the front because if Shami can get through him the rest are likely to fall like a pack of cards.

Virat Kohli vs Abu Jayed

Bangladesh's bowling attack could not extract as much out of the Indore pitch as their Indian counterparts did but one bowler who did shine for the visitors was Abu Jayed.

Kohli did not fare well in the previous match, being dismissed by Jayed for a two-ball duck. The Indian skipper would want a big score whereas the youngster would like to snare Kohli's wicket once again.

Mayank Agarwal v Mustafizur Rahman

Among the things that the Bangladesh bowling attack would have loved to have is the left armer Mustafizur Rahman. The young bowler gets sharp movement and operates at good pace, qualities that might unsettle the Indian batsmen early on.

Not dislodging them early enough, quite literally lost them the game after Mayank Agarwal made his chance count. If Mustafizur does get the nod, which he should, then along with Abu Jayed can cause some problems if they can execute plans accurately.

Umesh Yadav v Mominul Haque

Monimul may not have wanted the captaincy but in difficult times the board has turned to him and he has to lead from the front. This would mean having to see out the early pace threat of Umesh Yadav.

Haque, who generally bats at number 3, has to thwart India’s first and second change bowlers to allow some sort of respectability to their innings.